Be careful driving down the road with a chipped or cracked windshield. Cracks can quickly grow, especially on bumpy roads and with large temperature changes, and it may be illegal if it obstructs your visibility. So act quickly before something annoying becomes something expensive and life threatening.

When you’re driving your own car, you’re covered by your own auto insurance policy. But what happens when you’re a passenger? The good news is you may have coverage from more than one form of insurance carried by the driver of the car you’re riding in, another driver – or even your own insurance.

Ride-hailing companies Uber, Lyft and Sidecar each provide $1 million in commercial liability coverage to protect passengers and others in case of an accident caused by one of their drivers. This coverage is similar to the commercial insurance policies that taxi drivers are required to carry, but with higher limits of liability than is typical in most cities. For example:

Ride-hailing services like Uber have grown rapidly and signed up thousands of drivers. These new businesses make it possible for individuals to work flexible schedules and to enter the transportation business without a big initial investment.

Switching car insurance companies can save drivers 10% to 40%, or even more, depending on the circumstances. To find a better rate, first decide what coverage you need and comparison shop for the best deal. If you find a better offer than your current policy, ask your current insurer to match it in order to keep you as a customer (and save you a little time). Otherwise, buy your new, cheaper policy and then cancel your old one. You don’t need to wait until your current policy ends before you change to a more affordable one.

A conviction for driving under the influence (DUI) — also called driving while intoxicated (DWI) — will make it harder and more expensive to get car insurance. The good news is that a DUI conviction is only one of several factors that insurers use to determine risk. Each insurer also handles these infractions a bit differently. The bad news is that insurance rates can increase 30% or more after a first DUI, according to our findings.

In addition to being the unofficial start of summer, Memorial Day is also the year’s busiest weekend for car sales and the kick-off to a three-month period in which 27 percent of all annual car sales are recorded. That number may be even bigger this year, given record-low interest rates according to WalletHub’s Q2 Auto Financing Report. With that in mind, WalletHub continued its analysis of the car insurance landscape in search of insights that may help consumers make more informed decisions when they hit the car lot.

As we reported in our California Car Insurance Landscape Report, car insurance premiums are driven by a number of factors — including your driving record and experience, city of residence, the historical characteristics of drivers in your area and even your choice of vehicle. This report focuses on how car insurance premiums vary depending on the type, age, cost and make of the car you buy. You can check out our findings and the methodology we used to conduct this report below.

After a car accident, the prospect of dealing with insurance adjusters and claim forms can be more stressful than the accident itself. Be patient and optimistic. Filing claims and waiting for decisions can be a battle of attrition, but in many cases the process is faster and smoother than you might think.

It pays to be a safe driver. Or perhaps it’s more accurate to say that it’s costly to be a high risk driver.
People cited for things like DUI and reckless driving can find their finances drained by heavy fines, but that’s only where the costs begin. Since your insurance company will regard you as a higher risk, your car insurance premiums can rise over two times higher than the premiums a safe driver would pay, and it takes 3-5 years to clean your record.

The insurance premium penalty for high risk drivers varies widely from state to state, and it varies by type of violation. In some states, a checkered driving history means a big increase in insurance premiums, in other states the jump in premiums is relatively small. Which states and violations are most costly for high risk drivers?

There are over 10 million motor vehicle accidents every year, according to Census Bureau estimates, so even if you’re a safe driver, it pays to plan ahead and be prepared. The most important rules: Keep your cool. If there is any chance of serious injuries, call 911.

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Car insurance discounts are available to nearly everyone, and they can be worth more than you expect. To help you find potential savings, we’ve broken down three different categories of auto insurance discounts with ranges of what you can save and how often insurers offer them.

Insurance companies offer a variety of accident forgiveness programs designed to reassure safe drivers that, on the rare occasion that they do cause an accident, they won’t be penalized for it with increased premiums. Accident forgiveness can benefit insurers and customers alike.

Insurance companies benefit by retaining loyal customers who are the least likely to cause an accident. Drivers benefit from the reassurance that, if you have that rare lapse in judgment, you might be able to avoid the curse of higher rates.

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Although the term “full coverage” is commonly used by consumers, it doesn’t have an official definition. In popular jargon, the term is generally used to describe a policy that covers more than the bare minimum required by law and includes coverage for damage to your own car when the other driver's insurance won’t. Common variations include:

The bad news is you’ve been in an accident. The good news is that insurance will cover the cost of repairs. But what will you do for transportation while your car is in the shop? If you have rental reimbursement coverage, insurance will pay for the use of a rental car, too.

We all dread the counter at the car rental company. Confusion over coverage causes many travelers to either buy expensive, duplicate insurance or to drive away without adequate protection.Checking all the insurance boxes on a rental contractcan easily add $300.00 to the cost of a week’s car rental. But wrecking a rental after declining the insurance would trigger a much bigger bill. Faced with aggressive sales pitches, it pays to know your options before you rent.

Nearly 10 percent of U.S. households do not own a car, according to a 2014 study by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. In major cities such as New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington, a third or more of households are car-free. Are you part of this trend?

Drivers in almost all states are required to maintain minimum levels of auto insurance coverage. But beyond the minimum, your insurer will offer you many car insurance types. What do they cover, and which ones are right for you?

In the event of an insurance claim, “subrogation” refers to the process by which your insurance company collects money from the party at fault (or their insurance company) in order to recover funds you or your insurance company have already paid, including your deductible.

We all know driving can be dangerous, but in some states it’s more dangerous to your wallet than others. If another driver crashes into your car, can you be sure that driver has insurance, and, if so, enough to cover the damages?

The answer to this question varies from state to state. The proportion of drivers with no insurance ranges from a high of 25.9 percent of drivers in Oklahoma to only 3.9 percent in Massachusetts.